Tuesday, 17 November, 2015

Seattle, WA — The Seattle Symphony announces two new musician appointments. Jeffrey Barker has been appointed to the new position of Associate Principal Flute, which expands the orchestra’s flute section from three to four players. Jonathan Karschney has been appointed Assistant Principal Horn, a position he has held on a temporary contract since 2010. Both Barker and Karschney are Seattle natives and their appointments begin immediately.

New Associate Principal Flute Jeffrey Barker previously played as Principal Flute of the Boise Philharmonic since 2009. He has also performed with top orchestras around the country, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and as guest Principal Flute of the Oregon Symphony. Barker received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music under the instruction of Bonita Boyd, and his Master of Music degree from Carnegie Mellon University, where his teachers were Jeanne Baxtresser and Alberto Almarza.

Jonathan Karschney continues with the Seattle Symphony as Assistant Principal Horn, a position he has held on temporary contract from 2010–2015. Prior to joining the Symphony in 2010, Karschney was a freelance horn player in New York City. He was a substitute player with the New York Philharmonic, was a frequent performer in Broadway pits and served as Principal Horn with Radio City. In addition, he was also guest Principal Horn of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra. Karschney received his Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music while studying with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Principal Horn, Erik Ralske. As a Seattle native, Karschney attended Garfield High School and was a member of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra.

About the Seattle Symphony

The Seattle Symphony is one of America's leading symphony orchestras and is internationally acclaimed for its innovative programming and extensive recording history. Under the leadership of Music Director Ludovic Morlot since September 2011, the Symphony is heard from September through July by more than 500,000 people through live performances and radio broadcasts. It performs in one of the finest modern concert halls in the world — the acoustically superb Benaroya Hall — in downtown Seattle. Its extensive education and community engagement programs reach over 65,000 children and adults each year. The Seattle Symphony has a deep commitment to new music, commissioning many works by living composers each season, including John Luther Adams' recent Become Ocean, which won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music and a 2015 Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. The orchestra has made nearly 150 recordings and has received 18 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades. In 2014 the Symphony launched its in-house recording label, Seattle Symphony Media.